MARTA'S Leadership Change Should Include Public Comment/Input

On September 12, 2012, the Transportation Equity Coalition (TEC) scheduled a press conference for September 13th to address the concerns over the selection of MARTA’s next Chief Executive Officer.  Senator Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta) will join the Transportation Equity Coalition (TEC) to call on a fair vetting process that puts the people MARTA serves ahead of partisan politics.

The partisan politics started with State Rep. Mike Jacobs (R-Brookhaven), who chairs the legislative committee that oversees MARTA, inserting his preference into the process by making the following quote according to the AJC:

“It’s my understanding that MARTA has a very good internal candidate,” said Jacobs, a Republican, referring to deputy general manager and chief operating officer Dwight Ferrell.  “The decision the MARTA Board makes…may well determine in the very near term the direction of its relationship with the General Assembly.  An internal candidate who is committed to doing the work that needs to be done to get MARTA’s fiscal ship righted could go a long way to shoring up and bolstering the relationship with the General Assembly.”

TEC scheduled the press conference to urge the board to include public comment and input into the selection of the next Chief Executive Officer.

"Tomorrow's press conference will express concerns about the political interference in the hiring of the new MARTA general manager," said Barbara Payne, Executive Director. "The new general manager ought to be selected based on whether he/she will be the person best suited to improve MARTA's operations and help improve services for riders....period," said Payne.

The Transportation Equity Coalition (TEC) is composed of several organizations that came together to oppose the TSPLOST and now advocate for community-based solutions to Metro Atlanta's transportation challenges.

http://restoremarta.wordpress.com/2012/09/12/sen-fort-joins-transportation-equity-coalition-for-marta-press-conference/